[Hiring] Individual National Consultant – Public Finance and Budget Expert @AGORA

Role Description

The purpose of this assignment is to support the federal Ministry of Finance (MoF) in preparing the country’s federal Citizens Budget (CB). Led and owned by MoF, this assignment involves providing the Budget and Program Division – the division leading the preparation of the CB – necessary support for facilitating consultations, sectoral analysis, and quality assurance for timely publication of the document that is useful, clear and visually simplified for general citizens to understand what the budget plans to deliver for them.

MoF will lead the overall process by establishing the necessary institutional mechanisms (example: citizens’ budget formulation committee), ensuring sectoral coordination, overseeing data consolidation, management & accuracy, and providing coordination and technical oversight.

How can you make a difference?

To fulfill this assignment, a technical assistance (TA) team of two experts – Public Finance and Budget Transparency Expert (the advertised position) and Sectoral PFM Systems Expert – both engaged by UNICEF - will work under the leadership of the Budget and Program Division in the Ministry of Finance (MoF). In the context of the call, the Public Finance and Budget Transparency Expert (Team Leader) will be responsible for:

• Work as team leader of the TA team and collaborate with the MoF to ensure that all required steps are completed on time and meet the quality standards for the Open Budget Survey to recognize the CB for scoring.
• Work with Budget and Program Division to draft and finalize the template to be used for CB of the fiscal year 2026/27.
• Simplify revenue, expenditure, deficit, and financing information, including federalism-related allocations to be included in the CB for non-technical audiences.
• Interpret budget allocations with ministries, Classification of Functions of Government (COFOG), and explain implications for key sectors (health, education, social protection, infrastructure, etc.).
• Highlight distributional impacts on different population groups (women, children, marginalized communities, provinces). Where data is available include the estimated number of citizens who will benefit from key programs, and the number of service delivery points (e.g. schools, health posts, roads) to show reach and results.
• Ensure content reflects Nepal’s federal governance context and intergovernmental responsibilities.
• Support to identify pro-poor, gender-responsive, climate-responsive, and federalism-related allocations (federal–provincial–local linkages).
• Support to identify children-focused allocations in the sectoral budget including health, education, and social protection.
• Work out a section to show the alignment of the annual budget with national policies (e.g., periodic plans, fiscal transparency standards). Provide sector-specific key messages for inclusion in Citizens Budget (e.g., “What this means for citizens”).
• Facilitate organization of all necessary consultations, work sessions, and workshops with key stakeholders (including the ones with CSOs and sectoral ministries) to support drafting, discussions, finalization, publication and dissemination of the CB.
• Support finalization process necessary for the CB’s draft in line with the approved template and validate all figures and narratives to ensure consistency with official MoF documents.
• Review the draft of CB received from (i) Graphic Designer and Data Visualization Expert, and (ii) Nepali to English Language Translator and Copy Editor to ensure accuracy of the language, data and its representation.
• Draft standard operating procedures (SoP) for CB.

TASK

• Work with MoF and UNICEF to prepare Inception Report which should include: (i) work plan including timelines clearly showing that the CB will be completed within the Open Budget Survey (OBS) acceptance deadline and standard, (ii) draft template of the CB, and (iii) progress on formation of Citizens Budget Committee, etc.
• Organization of the template review and finalization workshop together with CSOs and other stakeholders. UNICEF’s draft template shared with Economic Policy Analysis Division can be used as a starting point of discussion.
• Simplify revenue, expenditure, deficit, and financing information, including federalism-related allocations to be included in the CB for non-technical audiences.
• Interpret budget allocations with ministries, Classification of Functions of Government (COFOG), and explain implications for key sectors (health, education, social protection, infrastructure, etc.).
• Highlight distributional impacts on different population groups (women, children, marginalized communities provinces). Where data is available include the estimated number of citizens who will benefit from key programs, and the number of service delivery points (e.g. schools, health posts, roads) to show reach and results.
• Ensure content reflects Nepal’s federal governance context and intergovernmental responsibilities.
• Support to identify pro-poor, gender-responsive, climate-responsive, and federalism-related allocations (federal–provincial–local linkages).
• Support to identify children-focused allocations in the sectoral budget including health, education, and social protection.
• Work out a section to show the alignment of the annual budget with national policies (e.g., periodic plans, fiscal transparency standards). Provide sector-specific key messages for inclusion in Citizens Budget (e.g., “What this means for citizens”).
• Organize all necessary consultations, work sessions, and workshops (including the ones with CSOs and sectoral ministries) to support drafting, discussions, finalization, publication and dissemination of the CB. The cost of the consultation workshops necessary for sectoral coordination and discussion will be paid through a third-party event organizer.
• Support finalization process necessary for the CB’s draft in line with the approved template and validate all figures and narratives to ensure consistency with official MoF documents.
• Facilitate organization of all necessary consultations, work sessions, and workshops (including with sectoral ministries).
• Review the draft of CB received from (i) Graphic Designer and Data Visualization Expert, and (ii) Nepali to English Language Translator and Copy Editor to ensure accuracy of the language, data and its representation.
• Draft standard operating procedures (SoP) of CB.

First Deliverable:

• Inception Report

Second Deliverable:

• CB template

Third Deliverable:

• Thematic and equity-focused budget analysis

Fourth Deliverable:

• First draft of CB

Fifth Deliverable:

• Final draft of CB (Nepali and English)

Final Deliverable:

• Draft of SOP on CB submitted to MoF.

Duration:

• The consultancy is for the period of 2.5 months, tentatively starting from 15 July 2026.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Management, Public Finance, Economics, Public Policy, Development Studies or related fields.

Requirements

• At least 10 years of professional experience in public financial management (PFM), budget analysis, or accountability reforms.
• Familiarity with Nepal’s PFM framework, including key documents (Budget Speech, Red Book, Economic Survey, Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability, etc.) is key.
• Proven experience working on Government of Nepal’s budget documents and systems in the federal context, particularly related to government financial systems and treasury management.
• Demonstrated experience in preparing or contributing to fiscal transparency initiatives or reforms.
• Experience working or collaborating with government institutions, development partners (e.g., World Bank, UN agencies), and multi-stakeholder processes.

Benefits

• UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce.
• Encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply.
• Offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities.
• Strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.